Clinic receptionist vs patient registrar

The differences between clinic receptionists and patient registrars can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a clinic receptionist, becoming a patient registrar takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a patient registrar has an average salary of $33,494, which is higher than the $31,647 average annual salary of a clinic receptionist.

The top three skills for a clinic receptionist include patients, customer service and medical terminology. The most important skills for a patient registrar are patients, customer service, and medical terminology.

Clinic receptionist vs patient registrar overview

	Clinic Receptionist	Patient Registrar
Yearly salary	$31,647	$33,494
Hourly rate	$15.21	$16.10
Growth rate	-	-4%
Number of jobs	93,243	86,721
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Average age	42	40
Years of experience	2	4

What does a clinic receptionist do?

A clinic receptionist is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support clinical operations and provide the highest quality care services for the patients within a health care facility. Clinic receptionists receive and respond to patients' inquiries and concerns, manage doctor appointments, and verify medical procedure schedules. They also handle the patients' information, organize files, and confirm the patients' insurance details on the database. A clinic receptionist coordinates with suppliers and vendors to ensure the adequacy of medical inventories and maintenance repairs of equipment and machinery.

What does a patient registrar do?

A patient registrar is responsible for receiving patients in a hospital or other health care institutions, verifying their information, and leading them to the appropriate facility for their health care needs. Patient registrars manage the hospital's database, updating patients' information, confirming insurance details, taking calls, responding to patients' inquiries and concerns, scheduling appointments, and performing related administrative and clerical tasks as needed. A patient registrar must have excellent communication and organizational skills to provide the best quality care services to the patients.

Clinic receptionist vs patient registrar salary

Clinic receptionists and patient registrars have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Clinic Receptionist	Patient Registrar
Average salary	$31,647	$33,494
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $37,000	Between $26,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	Oxnard, CA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Emanate Health	Guidehouse
Best paying industry	Education	Health Care

Differences between clinic receptionist and patient registrar education

There are a few differences between a clinic receptionist and a patient registrar in terms of educational background:

	Clinic Receptionist	Patient Registrar
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	University of Pennsylvania

Clinic receptionist vs patient registrar demographics

Here are the differences between clinic receptionists' and patient registrars' demographics:

	Clinic Receptionist	Patient Registrar
Average age	42	40
Gender ratio	Male, 8.5% Female, 91.5%	Male, 13.1% Female, 86.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 21.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 58.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 23.0% Asian, 6.4% White, 53.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	7%

Differences between clinic receptionist and patient registrar duties and responsibilities

Clinic receptionist example responsibilities.

Assist office management and staff with administrative projects/responsibilities such as managing time-sensitive projects, filing, copying, and collating materials.
Perform all assign tasks relate to admitting patients, discharging patients, laboratory, radiology, and respiratory services.
Schedule radiology exams for patients.
Schedule appointments, register new patients, update patient demographics, and provide comprehensive information.
Record physician orders on patients' charts in hospital MediTech computerize charting system.
Collect and verify patients' identity and insurance information and enter it into the MEDITECH system.

Patient registrar example responsibilities.

Process release of information requests according to HIPAA regulations and manage valuables safe for entire facility.
Specialize in high degree of compassion when communicating with patients providing information and insurance details.
Receive patients, record patient demographic information and verify insurance for emergency department, laboratory, and radiology
Register patients and ensure correctness of all demographic information in AS400, verify insurance on various websites and collect patient co-payments.
Update demographics, billing information, Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance during patient interviews to obtain pertinent registration information.
Enter confidential personal health information and financial information into IDX system with a high rate of accuracy and confidentiality.

Clinic receptionist vs patient registrar skills

Common clinic receptionist skills

Patients, 31%
Customer Service, 9%
Medical Terminology, 7%
Phone Calls, 7%
Appointment Scheduling, 5%
Patient Appointments, 4%

Common patient registrar skills

Patients, 25%
Customer Service, 11%
Medical Terminology, 11%
Patient Registration, 4%
Patient Care, 4%
Insurance Verification, 3%

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Clinic Receptionist
Clinic Receptionist vs Patient Registrar

Updated January 8, 2025

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